Use of fermentation residues as flow-enhancing agents in cementitious materials

Abstract

Herein is disclosed an admixture, for concrete, gypsum panels, and other cementitious products, derived from fermentation still bottoms. The admixture typically comprises protein, glycerol, and lactate, as well as smaller amounts of other alcohols, sugars, and other organic acids. The admixture may be present as a solution (typically comprising about 30-50 wt % solids) or as a dry mixture. The admixture allows increased flow and reduced water use in concrete and gypsum slurries used in gypsum panel production. Concrete, cement, and gypsum premixes, ready-mixes, and poured structures are disclosed.

1 . A composition, comprising: 
 a cementitious material, and    a fermentation residue.    
     
     
         2 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cementitious material is selected from the group consisting of cements and gypsum.  
     
     
         3 . The composition of  claim 2 , wherein the cementitious material is Type I Portland cement.  
     
     
         4 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the fermentation residue is a yeast ethanol fermentation residue or a  Corynebacterium  lysine fermentation residue.  
     
     
         5 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the fermentation residue is prepared by growing a microorganism on a medium, to form at least a microorganism biomass and the fermentation residue, and separating the fermentation residue from the microorganism biomass.  
     
     
         6 . The composition of  claim 5 , wherein the separating is performed by microfiltration with at least one membrane having a pore size from about 50 nm to about 1500 nm.  
     
     
         7 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the fermentation residue comprises from about 20 wt % to about 100 wt % water-soluble compounds.  
     
     
         8 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the fermentation residue is dry.  
     
     
         9 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the fermentation residue comprises protein, glycerol, and at least one organic acid.  
     
     
         10 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises from about 0.1 oz. fermentation residue water-soluble compounds per 100 pounds cementitious material to about 50 oz. fermentation residue water-soluble compounds per 100 pounds cementitious material.  
     
     
         11 . The composition of  claim 10 , wherein the composition comprises from about 1 oz. fermentation residue water-soluble compounds per 100 pounds cementitious material to about 20 oz. fermentation residue water-soluble compounds per 100 pounds cementitious material.  
     
     
         12 . The composition of  claim 1 , further comprising water other than any water present in the fermentation residue.  
     
     
         13 . The composition of  claim 12 , wherein the water-cement weight ratio is from about 0.25 to about 0.75.  
     
     
         14 . The composition of  claim 1 , further comprising an additive selected from the group consisting of flow improvers, plasticity improvers, water reducers, strengtheners, set retarders, set accelerators, air entrainers, corrosion inhibitors, and shrink compensation agents.  
     
     
         15 . The composition of  claim 14 , wherein the additive is present at from about 5 wt % to about 50 wt % relative to fermentation residue water-soluble compounds.  
     
     
         16 . The composition of  claim 1 , further comprising aggregate.  
     
     
         17 . The composition of  claim 16 , wherein the aggregate is present at from about 0.1 lbs/lb cementitious material to about 10 lbs/lb cementitious material.  
     
     
         18 . The composition of  claim 17 , wherein the aggregate is present at from about 4 lbs/lb cementitious material to about 6 lbs/lb cementitious material.  
     
     
         19 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the fermentation residue comprises, by weight, from about 8 parts to about 11 parts protein, from about 0.01 parts to about 0.04 parts fat, from about 6 parts to about 10 parts glycerol, from about 0.1 parts to about 0.4 parts arabitol, from about 0.1 parts to about 0.8 parts sorbitol, from about 0.5 parts to about 1.2 parts trehalose, from about 0.9 parts to about 1.2 parts glucose, from about 0.05 parts to about 0.10 parts fructose, from about 1.1 parts to about 1.3 parts isomaltose, from about 0.1 parts to about 0.3 parts maltose, from about 0.01 parts to about 0.05 parts maltotriose, from about 0.07 parts to about 0.30 parts panose, from about 0.01 parts to about 0.06 parts linear 4-24 unit dextrose oligomers, from about 2 parts to about 4 parts nonlinear 4-24 unit dextrose oligomers, from about 3 parts to about 6 parts lactate, from about 0.1 parts to about 0.2 parts acetate, from about 0 parts to about 0.03 parts formate, from about 0.1 parts to about 0.2 parts pyruvate, from about 0.4 parts to about 0.6 parts chloride, from about 0.9 parts to about 1.1 parts succinate, from about 0.5 parts to about 0.7 parts sulfate, from about 0.2 parts to about 0.3 parts oxalate, and from about 2 parts to about 4 parts phosphate.  
     
     
         20 . A method of preparing a composition comprising a cementitious material and a fermentation residue, the method comprising: 
 growing a microorganism on a medium, to form at least a microorganism biomass and a fermentation residue;    separating the fermentation residue from the microorganism biomass; and    combining the fermentation residue with the cementitious material, to form the composition.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising concentrating the fermentation residue water-soluble compounds prior to combining the fermentation residue with the cementitious material.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the cementitious material is selected from the group consisting of cements and gypsum.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the microorganism is selected from the group consisting of yeast and  Corynebacterium.    
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the separating is performed by microfiltration with at least one membrane having a pore size from about 50 nm to about 1500 nm.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the growing step further comprises producing at least one target product, and the method further comprises removing the at least one target product from the medium, to retain the microorganism biomass and the fermentation residue.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the at least one target product is selected from the group consisting of ethanol and lysine.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising removing one or more compounds from the fermentation residue prior to the combining step.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising combining the fermentation residue and the cementitious material with at least one additional material selected from group consisting of water, aggregate, and additives selected from the group consisting of flow improvers, plasticity improvers, water reducers, strengtheners, set retarders, set accelerators, air entrainers, corrosion inhibitors, and shrink compensation agents.  
     
     
         29 . A method of producing a cementitious structure, comprising: 
 combining at least a fermentation residue, a cementitious material, and water, to yield a slurry;    forming the slurry into an unset cementitious structure; and    setting the unset cementitious structure, to yield the cementitious structure.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the fermentation residue is a yeast ethanol fermentation residue or a  Corynebacterium  lysine fermentation residue.  
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the cementitious material is selected from the group consisting of cements and gypsum.  
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the combining step further comprises combining aggregate with the fermentation residue, the cementitious material, and water.  
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the cementitious structure is selected from the group consisting of foundations, floors, walls, slabs, construction panels, roads, mortar, grout, terrazo, and adhesive.  
     
     
         34 . A composition, comprising: 
 a fermentation residue,    water, and    an inorganic material dispersed in the water.    
     
     
         35 . The composition of  claim 34 , wherein the fermentation residue is prepared by growing a microorganism on a medium, to form at least a microorganism biomass and the fermentation residue, and separating the fermentation residue from the microorganism biomass.  
     
     
         36 . The composition of  claim 35 , wherein the separating is performed by microfiltration with at least one membrane having a pore size from about 50 nm to about 1500 nm.  
     
     
         37 . The composition of  claim 34 , wherein the inorganic material is selected from the group consisting of paper fillers and paper pigments.  
     
     
         38 . A method of preparing a composition comprising a fermentation residue, water, and an inorganic material dispersed in the water, the method comprising: 
 growing a microorganism on a medium, to form at least a microorganism biomass and the fermentation residue;    separating the fermentation residue from the microorganism biomass; and    combining the fermentation residue with the water and the inorganic material, to form the composition.    
     
     
         39 . A method of producing a paper structure containing an inorganic material, comprising: 
 combining a fermentation residue with water and an inorganic material, to yield a solution;    treating the paper structure with the solution, to yield a treated paper structure; and    removing water from the treated paper structure, to yield the paper structure containing the inorganic material.